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Main AFO Page
Self Assessment Form
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The Sheridan County
Conservation District (SCCD) has obtained
grants to provide cost-share assistance to
landowners wishing to make animal feeding
operation improvements in Sheridan County.
The purpose of this cost-share program is to
develop and install structural and/or
management practices that will assist in
reducing water quality impacts from
livestock operations. In addition, the
program will help producers minimize their
risk for regulatory action.
As part of this program,
technical assistance from the USDA-Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) is provided to assist
the producer in the planning, design, and
engineering of the project. Other qualified
personnel may be used at the landowner’s discretion
to provide technical support. However, all
work must meet NRCS standards and specifications to
be considered for funding. In addition, a
specific implementation plan and contract will be
developed with the selected project applicants.
The contract will be between the producer and SCCD.
Applications will be
prioritized and selected by the SCCD with guidance,
when necessary, from a Local Work Group (LWG), which
consists of local watershed steering committee
representatives, agriculture producers, USDA agency
personnel, UW Cooperative Extension personnel,
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality
representatives, and local Conservation District
representatives. Landowners are encouraged to
meet with the SCCD during the approval process.
Although not required, an
information and education component, which might
include a tour of the site, is highly recommended as
a way to facilitate broad-scale change throughout
the watershed. However, the SCCD does
not wish to exclude projects with a high potential
for improving water quality that might not otherwise
participate.
The level of treatment to be
achieved will target zero discharge from a 25 yr/24
hour event based on current EPA standards for
permitted facilities. However, the actual
treatment level applied to the operation will be the
landowner’s decision. The level of treatment
applied will be considered by the SCCD in priority
setting.
The SCCD will base decisions on
consensus rather than majority vote. The 5
basic criteria used when prioritizing applications
include:
1. An assessment of the
operation’s risk or need for improvement;
2. Water quality concerns/
potential benefits;
3. Cost effectiveness;
4. Group Consensus on the
benefits of the project;
5. The location in
respect to impaired waterbodies. |
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